Creators of “participatory defense” – a community organizing model for people facing charges, their families, and communities to impact the outcome of cases and transform the landscape of power in the court system

“The First 24” — A Participatory Defense Action Tool

Last month, we got a familiar late night, frantic, call. A friend’s father just got arrested, and she wanted to know what she could do. She didn’t know how to locate him in the jail, how to make sure the jail knew about his medical condition, and how to influence the bail process to get him home as soon as possible to fight his case. Because those type of calls are fairly frequent for us, we immediately shared a few steps she could take to get the answers and outcome she was looking for within the first 24 hours. She looked for him in the online county system, and because the arrest was so recent, he was not yet processed. So we gave her the number at the jail, and let her know what information she should have ready for them to locate him. When she learned that his case was going to be reviewed by Pre-Trial Services due to the status of the charge, we shared with her how to communicate vital information about her father that could influence how the judge could determine his possible release or bail amount. She initially called us at around 10PM. She was picking him up and taking him home by 6am. He is now home to work with his family and his public defender to challenge the charges, without having to do so while detained. Of course, this is just the start of the work their family is going to have to do, but it was an important first step. And now he will be able to go to participatory defense meetings to actively engage in his own defense. The day after his release, we decided we should put these steps out to the community. And we thought every community, particularly those counties that have participatory defense hubs, should have these steps out in the public as well. This graphic is designed to be looked at on the phone, as well as printed as posters to be hung up in community touchstones. Our participatory defense hubs in Alabama, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, as well as other counties in California are already starting on their county-specific First 24 so community and families can impact cases — from those extremely important first hours. If you are interested in starting a First 24 for your county, email us.